Traffic signal



Feb. 24,1942.

W. A. WEED TRAFFIC S I GNAL Filed May 23, 1941 Patented Feb. 24, 1942UNITED -STATES PATENT ()FFICE TRAFFIC SIGNAL Walter A. Weed,Philadelphia, Pa. I Application May 23, 1941, Serial No. 394,772

2 Claims.

The object of the invention is to provide improvements in trafficsignals, but more especially in that type which is intended forillumination at the intersection of two or more streets or roadways.Another object is to provide an opaque, constantly rotatable,cylindrical element, provided with tapering, colored, transparent areas,as compared with the remaining opaque portions, said transparent areasbeing tinted red and green, or other desired colors, such as will serveto direct trafiic to stop and go, respectively, together with interposedamber or equivalent caution indicating'color, it being understood thatthe specific colors referred to are but illustrative of the colors thatmay be employed for the purposes indicated.

A further object is to provide a device of this type, comprising thecylinder just referred to in combination with a suitable casing havingwindows, through which definite portions of said colored areas arevisible, when illuminated by a single lamp if preferred, or by aplurality of lamps instead, said rotatable element being positioned torevolve about a vertical axis and driven by an electric motor, which ishoused within either the upper or the lower end portion of said casing.

Still another object is to provide a modified form of such a signal, inwhich a simple shutter mechanism is installed for the purpose ofshutting off all light rays during the change from one color to the nextadjacent thereto, so that the succeeding color will appear suddenly andthereby diminish the tendency of vehicle drivers to anticipate the nextcolor, especially when the next color directs them to go or proceed,before the preceding amber or equivalent caution indicating color haspassed completely from before a particular window.

With the objects thus briefly stated, the invention comprises furtherdetails of construction and operation, which are fully brought out inthe following description, when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in Which Fig. 1 is a vertical, elevational view ofa signal comprising one embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a verticalsection of the device upon the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a developedplan view of the rotatable element, showing the arrangement and relationof the several colored and opaque areas; Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectionsimilar to that of Fig. 2, but showing a modified form of the device,including the oscillatable shutters hereinbefore referred to; and Fig. 6is a development of the rotatable elementof Fig. 5.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, a casing is shown as comprising a preferablycylindrical portion I, provided in this instance with four windows orlight-emitting apertures 2, covered by transparent glass or similarpanels 3, directed towards the street or other ways through whichtraffic approaches. The upper portion of said casing is partially orentirely closed by a wall 4, from which is suspended one or more lamps5, extending downwardly into a rotatable cylinder 6, while any suitableornamental protective top 1 may also be present. Said cylinder restsupon a suitable bottom closure wall or spider 8, which is in turn drivenby a motor 9, carried by a transversely extending wall III in the hollowbase portion ll of said casing. The whole signal unit may be carried bya shaft [2, or other suitable supporting means.

The rotatable cylinder 6 is opaque to a large degree throughout areasl3, which are separated by alternately upper and lower positioned amberor similar caution indicating areas l4 and connecting strips of red andgreen, or equivalent stop and go indicating areas I5 and it,respectively. It will be noted that said cylinder rotates in thedirection indicated by the arrow directly beneath it, and accordinglythe width of the red and green strips decreases'in the reversedirection, so that as they pass the respective windows 2 they appear, ineffect, to decrease in thickness, while the intensity of the light whichthey pass decreases proportionately in intensity.

With this arrangement, the constant. and gradual decrease, first, in thewidth of the green strip is diminishing, and thereby the same rate ofdecrease in the remaining time that such green strip will remainvisible, before the next amber area will be visible as an indicationthat approaching drivers are to slow and stop, or be prepared to stopimmediately upon the larger end of the next strip, which is red,appearing.

In the same manner, the red strip in turn decreases in width andsimilarly the amount of red rays that it passes, until it merges intothe next amber or other-intermediate colored are-a, thus indicating toapproaching drivers that they are free to start, upon the larger end ofthe next adjacent green strip appearing.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, the alternately arranged green and redtapering areas I! and I8, with interposed amber areas H), are shown asbeing in substantially horizontal alignment upon the rotatable cylinder20, although they may be arranged in zig-zag order, as shown in Fig. 4.if desired. In Fig. 5 the casing, windows and window panels are numberedas in Figs. 1 to 3. The said cylinder, rotating in the direction of thelower arrow, however, is provided upon its inner surface with spacedlugs 2|. Within said cylinder and carried by the upper wall 4 of saidcasing, are a series of arcuate shutters 22 having lugs 22a, whichengage said first-mentioned lugs 2|, and are mounted upon arms 23 whichare pivotally supported at 24, and are yieldingly maintained in normalretracted position against bumpers 25 by means of springs 26. As theaxes of said shutters are eccentric with respect to the axis of saidcylinder, it will be apparent that the shutter lugs 22a are graduallyreleased by and from the cylinder lugs 2!, as the cylinder continues torotate, as indicated by the dot-and-dash position of one shutter shownin Fig. 5, after which each shutter thus engaged by a cylinder lug ispermitted to return abruptly to its normalretracted position, thereuponwith equal suddenness exposing thecolored transparent area, whichhas-been passing acros the adjacent window'aperture in front of and inalignment with said shutter. Consequently, after the next coloredareahas reached a position in full registry with said window, saidshutter snaps back and reveal said area through whichv light rays arethen adapted to pass, and continue to pass until the next lug 2| at thebeginning of the next colored area engages the said shutter lug, whenthe colored area then illuminated gradually decreases in area until.said shutter reaches its extreme position and is again released by andfrom said cylinder lug.

From this description, which has been maintained in relatively broadterms, it is quite apparent that the invention is not limited to theexact arrangement of the colored areas, or to the selection of specificcolors, or in fact to the other details exactly as shown, wherefore theinvention is to be gauged by the appended claims rather than the drawingand related description. For instance, in numerous instances it may befound desirable if not actually essential to provide the lower edge orother suitable portion of the cylinder with words or other indicia todirectly indicate, other than by means of colors such directions asstop, go, slow, and/or similar commands or admonitions. These may bemade Visible through possibly smaller auxiliary windows beneath the mainwindows hereinbefore referred to, if desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A traffic signal, comprising a casing having a window, a rotatablecylinder therein having a pair of alternately located coloredtransparent areas which taper in one direction and are adapted to passsaid window, means to rotate said cylinder, a segmental shutteroscillatable about an axes eccentric to said cylinder and intermittentlyengageable by said cylinder to obscure. the leading end portion of agiven area until-such portion is in registry with said window, and meansto automatically return said shutter angularly to normal retractedposition upon such leading portion reaching a predetermined positionwith respect to said window and said shutter being released by saidcylinder.

2. A trafiic signal, comprising a casing having a plurality of windows,a rotatable cylinder therein having a plurality of alternately locatedtransparent areas which taper in one directionand are adapted tosimultaneously pass a plurality of windows, said colored areas beingobliquely arranged upon said cylinder, a plurality of segmental,angularly oscillatable shutters also within said cylinder mounted uponcircumferentially spaced axes eccentric with respect to the axis ofrotation of said cylinder, resilient means to normally maintain, saidshutters in retracted positions laterally of said windows, lugs carriedby said cylinder adjacent to the leading end portion of each colored.area, and lugs carried by said shutters and engageable with said firstlugs as given colored areas approach said Windows, to intermittentlymove said shutters angularly so as to obscure said colored areasuntilthey have. reached a predetermined position, whereupon said cylinderlugs automatically release said shutter lugs and permit said shutters toreturn to their normal retracted positions.

WALTER A. WEED;

